HUD2024-004907
Brodie Fraser
[FYI request #27468 email]
Tēnā koe Brodie
Thank you for your emails of 2 July 2024 requesting the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
Under the Official Information Act 1982 could I please request copies of any contract
reports, including narrative reports, prepared by transitional housing and sustaining
tenancy providers in the Wellington and Waikato regions who are contracted by HUD and
have clients under 25 or support whānau with children, for the final quarter of 2023? I am
uninterested in financial reporting or any personal/identifying details of clients or staff. I
am particularly interested in contract reports that give information relating to:
- Approaches providers have identified as being effective (particularly any that relate to
children and young people under 25)
- What doesn’t work, or hinders their ability to effectively carry out their work (particularly
in terms of contracting requirements and constraints)
- Suggestions of improvements that could be made, or opportunities to improve support
and delivery
- What extra support providers are giving to clients beyond what they’re contracted to
deliver
- Generalised successes and challenges for clients and the interventions or activities
linked to these
- Generalised client satisfaction and generalised reasons for exiting services
As explained in our response to your previous request seeking reports on providers who work with
youth, Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s contracts do not
require providers to submit quarterly reports of the nature you have requested. However, some
providers stil provide narrative quarterly reporting to the Ministry, based on previous contract
requirements.
Four reports have been identified as in scope of your request and are released to you with some
information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy of natural persons.
The documents are detailed in the at ached document schedule.
In terms of section 9(1) of the Act, I am satisfied that, in the circumstances, the decision to withhold
information under section 9 of the Act is not outweighed by other considerations that render it
desirable to make the information available in the public interest.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of my response by the Ombudsman, in
accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The relevant details can be found on the Ombudsman’s
website at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
As part of our ongoing commitment to openness and transparency, the Ministry proactively releases
information and documents that may be of interest to the public. As such, this response, with your
personal details removed, may be published on our website.
Yours sincerely
William Barris
General Manager Partnerships and Performance
Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
Annex 1: Document schedule
Documents released – HUD2024-004907
Date
Document
Section
of the Act
applied
1 13 November 2023 Mostly Good News
9(2)(a)
2 24 January 2024
Oasis Network Inc Lower Hutt Transitional Housing
9(2)(a)
Quarterly Narrative Report October – December 2023
3 24 January 2024
Oasis Network Inc Upper Hutt Transitional Housing
9(2)(a)
Quarterly Narrative Report October – December 2023
4 April 2024
Tākiri Mai te Ata Trust Homeless Prevention Services at 9(2)(a)
[address redacted] (case study)
3
From: HVCH Manager <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 5:03 PM
To: Peni Fiti <[email address]>
Subject: Mostly Good News
Gidday Peni
I thought I’d give you an email to give some more information since sending through the
monthly report last week.
We are mainly happy and a little frustrated at the same time:
Happy - our outcome numbers are becoming progressively more positive
Happy - we are one house shy of fil ing available stand alones
Happy - the very positive numbers in the shared houses regarding lack of evictions and
rising positive outcomes
Frustrated - the difficulty we are having getting people into our shared houses
More detail on that further into this email
More happy numbers (these were calculated on 26.10.23)
Positive Outcomes
Since the ‘new team’ began in August 2022, we have had:
Dramatically improving positive outcomes
As a result of our staff learning and developing their roles and experience while working with the
processes we have developed, our results have improved throughout the last year.
Results for the 36 Shared people and 20 Stand Alone households who have left us since
August 2022.
Results for the 36 Shared people and 20 Stand Alone households who have left us since
August 2022.
Positive Outcomes Percentages
i.e. Depart to Longer Term Housing (rentals, whanau, Kainga Ora)
Shared
Stand Alones
36 ‘households’ depart the
20 ‘households depart the Stand
Shared houses
Alone houses
[UNCLASSIFIED]
1st third of the
25%
17%
departures
2nd third of
33%
71%
departures
3rd third of
75%
71%
departures
In the 2nd quarter we had 8 evictions from Shared Houses
In the 3rd quarter we had no evictions
Stand Alones
We currently have only 1 stand alone available that is unoccupied (this is a 3BR in Wainuiomata
that has just become available after being refurbished after the residents left to a Kainga Ora
house on 23.10.23)
We have 3 other (2BR) houses currently being refurbished after departures to private rentals on
6 & 8 Nov, and another departure on 3 Nov.
Shared Houses For Men - Lower Hutt & Upper Hutt
Slowly fil ing our Shared Houses. Spaces available in Lower Hutt & Upper Hutt
I am trying to fil up the houses while one of my Support Workers in particular continues to
empty them! He, s 9(2)(a) s great at assisting the guys into longer term housing
11 out of our last 11 departures from our Shared Housing has been to longer term housing
options (full disclosure: the youngest one we’ve ever had only stayed 2-3 days before leaving to
a housing situation with whanau. Technically a positive outcome for HVCH, but it probably
would have been better if he’d stuck it out with us, got our support, and did a little growing up.)
We continue to have extremely poor MSD referral results for single men i.e. actually turning up
to the interviews.
As a rough guide, we are only able to make contact with about 50% of those who MSD sends
referrasl letters for.
Of those who we are able to contact we explain a little bit about shared housing and the support
we offer.
If, at that point, they are interested in a Shared House for Tranisitional Housing then we discuss
with them about attending an interview and then book a time and date for the interview.
I have looked at our MSD referrals for our Shared Houses since August.
Of the 26 interviews that have been
booked with referrals:
[UNCLASSIFIED]
73% did not show up i.e 19 / 26.
The vast majority (well over 90%) do not contact us to inform us that they wil not be attending.
It seems to me that there is a disconnect somewhere.
There is some thought that a number of MSD clients are saying to their CMs that they wil go to
the interview so that they don't have the CM tell them they could be sanctioned for telling the
CM they don't want to attend.
They then don't turn up to the interview, have a negative 'Referral Outcome Form' returned, and
then the negative sanctions. Wasting huge amounts of time at our end and preventing other
referrals having those limited interview slots.
In order to make it easier for referrals to get to the interviews we have them at our Main St,
Upper Hutt, office (nearer public transport). My office is a 5 minutes car ride away.
73% of interviews I travel to, do not turn up.
Earlier today I sent an email through MSD to ask for suggestions as to how we/they might raise
the attendance rate..
A summary of our current process is:
• Receive referral letters
• Make attempts to contact the referral
o we make 3 phone call attempts and for any of these where no one answers, we
send a text informing who we are and asking them to get in contact with us if
they are interested in finding accommodation
o we make those 3 attempts on 3 different days
• Once we make contact we briefly explain:
o what Shared Housing and Transitional Housing are
o what our support involves
o we ask them if they are interested and do they want an interview
o if they say 'yes' we inform them of the time and date and explain the
consequences in terms of a negative 'Referral Outcome Form' if they do not
turn up
o We send them a text confirming the time, date, and address (plus other details
e.g. bring ID)
• We send a reminder text on the day or the day before (depending on the time of day of
the interview)
Regards
Tim
Tim Dunwoodie | Manager
Hutt Valley Community Housing
Part of Te Whare Tane Trust
s 9(2)(a)
| +64 4 527 4001 Option 2
www.hvch.org.nz
[UNCLASSIFIED]
[email address]
Office: Suite 105, 22 Lane Street, Upper Hutt
Head Office: 152 Main Street, Upper Hutt. Tel. 04 527 400
Postal Address: PO Box 40110, Upper Hutt 5140
[UNCLASSIFIED]
